Georgia Republican Party

The Georgia Republican Party is the branch of the Republican Party in the US state of Georgia. The party was founded in 1854, but its rival, the Democratic Party of Georgia, controlled the government until the end of the American Civil War. In 1868, during Reconstruction, the Republicans captured the state legislature, with the whites from the mountainous north and the large African-American population of the state voting for the Republicans. However, Reconstruction ended in Georgia in 1871 when the legislature called for a special election that landed a Democrat in power, and the Democrats controlled the Governor's Mansion, the state legislature, and all statewide offices from 1872 to 2002. After 1882, the Republicans stopped competing in elections in the state, effectively cementing Georgia's status as a one-party state. In 1979, the Republicans had a major success when the young and charismatic Newt Gingrich won an election to the US House of Representatives, and the party's grim fortunes began to turn during the 1990s. A redistricting plan carried out by the General Assembly inadvertently helped the Republicans, and Sonny Perdue's election as governor in 2002 helped the Republicans to gain power in the state once more. In 2002 and 2004, the Republicans gained control over both chambers of the state legislature, and they held 38/56 State Senate seats and 119/180 State House of Representatives seats in 2017.